1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus and method and, more particularly, to an information processing apparatus and method having a function of displaying a plurality of windows on a display screen.
2. Description of the Related Art
In a conventional windows system, for example, in Windows 95 of U.S. Microsoft Corp., the use of the xe2x80x9cdrag-and-dropxe2x80x9d function instead of a xe2x80x9cmenu commandxe2x80x9d makes it possible to easily copy, move, or print an item, such as a file. That is, while pressing a mouse button, an item can be dragged to another location. Presently, an item can be moved by only dragging the item by the left button of the mouse, and copied by dragging it by the left button of the mouse and by pressing the Shift key.
As an actual operation, the copying of a specific file between folders is described below.
The name of a file to be copied is denoted as a file 1, the name of a folder from which the file is copied is denoted as a transfer-source folder, and the name of a folder to which the file is copied is denoted as a transfer-destination folder.
Initially, the transfer-source folder is opened by double-clicking it with a mouse, and adjustments are made by the horizontal and vertical scroll bars of the transfer-source folder so that an object file 1 can be seen. Then, the position of the transfer-source folder or the transfer-destination folder is determined so that the transfer-destination folder can be seen. Finally, while pressing the Shift key, copying is performed by dragging the file 1 with the left button of the mouse and moving it onto the transfer-destination folder and dropping it therein.
However, in the above-described conventional art, to find an object file, generally, there is a demand to find it in such a way that the window of a transfer-source folder is made as large as possible. Since the transfer-destination folder is concealed, if the transfer-source folder is too large, there is a need for the window size to be limited to an extent that the folder is not concealed; a larger size is taken until the object file is found and after it is found the window size is reduced by adjusting the scroll bar to an extent that the found file is not concealed; or it is required that the transfer-source folder be moved to a position at which the transfer-destination folder is not concealed and the object file is then dragged.
Therefore, there are drawbacks, such as the window size of the transfer source folder requiring adjustment or the positioning of the transfer-source folder and the transfer-destination folder requiring adjustment. Further, when this copy operation is repeated a plurality of times, there are drawbacks, such as the window size of the transfer-source folder requiring adjustment at each time or the position of the transfer-source folder needing to be moved.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an information processing apparatus and method, which performs processing on a transfer-source window when a file or the like is moved or copied, thereby improving the ease of operation.
To achieve the above-described object, according to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided an information processing apparatus having a function for displaying a plurality of windows on a display screen, the information processing apparatus including transfer-source specification means for specifying a file of a transfer source; transfer-destination specification means for specifying a file of a transfer destination; and processing means for, when the file of the transfer source is specified, performing size processing on a window of the transfer source having a file of the transfer source.
According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided an information processing method including the steps of, displaying a plurality of windows on a display screen; specifying a file of a transfer source; reducing the size of the window of the transfer source having the specified file; and specifying a transfer destination.
The above and further objects, aspects and novel features of the invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description when read in connection with the accompanying drawings.